The day after the Kevin incident, Jayden walked into school and… something was different.
People looked at him. Not in the "haha look at this loser" way, but in the "is this the guy who cooked Kevin in front of everyone?" way.A group of sophomores were watching him walk by like he was a trending TikTok sound. Someone even whispered, "That's the dude who speedran Kevin's career."
Jayden wasn't used to attention, so he did what any socially awkward teen would do—pretend not to notice and overthink it later in the shower.
Still, it was obvious: his win over Kevin was already circulating through Westfield High's very advanced, highly efficient gossip network (also known as Snapchat stories).
A clip of Kevin tripping over his own feet had been posted with the caption:"Locker King dethroned 💀"Another had Jayden walking away afterward, with the text:"Bro got the protagonist walk"
Jayden liked that one. He didn't like that someone else had added,"Main character from a Wattpad fanfic"
But one thing was clear — if he wanted to keep his new status, he couldn't just sit on this power. He had to train.Which brought him to his room later that night, ring on his finger, standing in front of the mirror with the determination of a man about to… mildly inconvenience himself.
"Alright," he muttered. "We start small."
Training Attempt #1 – Speed ReadingHe slowed time and tried to read faster.It didn't work. His eyes moved at normal speed, so the only thing that changed was him spending what felt like an hour on a single paragraph.
Training Attempt #2 – Dodging Random StuffHe tossed a pillow in the air, slowed time, and weaved around it like it was a deadly attack.Unfortunately, the cat joined in and pounced mid-slow-mo, which scared him so bad he tripped over his chair.
Training Attempt #3 – PushupsImmediate failure. He got to two and then laid on the floor questioning his life choices.
Eventually, Jayden realized something important: slow-mo didn't make him stronger — it just gave him more time to react.So if he actually wanted to throw hands without relying 100% on the ring, he needed to work on his body too.
Which… sucked.
Over the next week, his "training arc" looked like this:
Doing ten pushups before bed (two real ones, eight flopping around like a dying fish).
Jogging exactly one block before pretending to tie his shoe so he could breathe again.
Practicing dodges in slow-mo against falling water bottles, socks, and one unfortunate slice of bread.
But every so often, he'd get little W's:
Catching a kid's phone mid-drop and handing it back like he was casually defusing a bomb.
Side-stepping someone in the hallway without looking and hearing them go, "Okay, Spider-Man."
Messing with the vending machine by slow-mo catching two snacks before they hit the bottom.
Of course, all good things come with side effects.Rumors started spreading that Jayden had "some secret fighting style" or "paid to learn advanced reflex training."Someone even claimed he was an ex-child soldier from Korea, which was so far from the truth that Jayden didn't even bother correcting it.
But the weirdest part? Kevin hadn't tried anything since the hallway incident.Which was great…Until Jayden overheard him in the cafeteria saying:"Yeah, nah. I'm saving him for the real match."
A chill ran down Jayden's spine.
He knew what that meant.Kevin wasn't done. He was just waiting.And Jayden?He needed to level up — fast.
Because beating Kevin once was funny.Beating him twice would make Jayden unstoppable.